Abraham Lincoln’s assassination remains a pivotal moment in American history, but the underlying motives are often simplified. Just days after the Civil War concluded, President Lincoln delivered a speech advocating for voting rights for Black men, a stance that ignited a deadly rage in actor John Wilkes Booth, who was present in the audience. Enraged by Lincoln’s progressive view on Black citizenship, Booth swore, “That is the last speech he will ever make.” Three days later, Booth carried out his threat, shooting Lincoln and forever altering the course of the nation. But Why Was Lincoln Assassinated, and how deeply was this act rooted in racial inequality?
According to Susannah Koerber, chief curator at the Indiana State Museum, this direct link between Lincoln’s advocacy for Black rights and Booth’s murderous decision is often overlooked. While Booth’s declaration is well-documented among Lincoln scholars, many are unaware of the profound connection between Lincoln’s evolving stance on racial equality and the tragic assassination. This critical context is explored in the “Influencing Lincoln” exhibit at the Indiana State Museum, shedding light on the racial motivations behind this infamous crime.
Lincoln was shot late on April 14, 1865, and succumbed to his injuries the following morning. This occurred in the immediate aftermath of the Confederacy’s collapse, with Richmond fallen and General Lee’s surrender at Appomattox signaling the war’s end. Booth, initially part of a kidnapping plot, was driven by a deep-seated opposition to racial equality. Even as the Confederacy crumbled, his white supremacist ideology fueled his determination to assassinate Lincoln. As Koerber explains, Booth “was so against the idea of equality, he so embraced white supremacy, that he thought it was grounds for killing Lincoln.”
The Confederacy itself was explicitly founded on the principle of racial inequality and the institution of slavery. Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens, in his infamous Cornerstone Speech, clearly articulated this ideology. He declared that the Confederacy rejected the Declaration of Independence’s assertion that “all men are created equal,” viewing it as a fundamental error by the Founding Fathers. Instead, the Confederacy proudly proclaimed its foundation on inequality. This stark rejection of equality underscores the volatile racial climate of the time and provides crucial context for understanding Booth’s extreme reaction to Lincoln’s evolving views on Black rights. Lincoln, and the burgeoning movement for equal rights, directly challenged this cornerstone of the Confederacy.
Frederick Douglass, the renowned abolitionist, orator, and writer, delivered a powerful eulogy for Lincoln, recognizing his significant, albeit evolving, stance on racial justice. Douglass stated that Lincoln “was the first American president who rose above the prejudices of his time and country.” He further acknowledged, “Abraham Lincoln, while unsurpassed in his devotion to the welfare of the white race, was also in a sense hitherto without example emphatically the Black man’s president, the first to show any respect for their rights as men.” Douglass’s words highlight the groundbreaking nature of Lincoln’s shift towards recognizing Black rights, a shift that tragically contributed to the events leading to his assassination. In conclusion, the answer to why was Lincoln assassinated is deeply intertwined with the racial tensions of the era and his courageous, albeit gradual, movement towards advocating for equality.
